Last saved by: Rydell Downward

Character Questions by Subject
* Advanced questions 

YOU
What is your name?
Do you have a middle name?  If you do, why do you?
What is your age?
What is your sign of the Zodiac?
Describe your temperament.
Is it difficult to talk about your feelings? What feelings do you have the most trouble expressing?
What gets you upset?
What makes you happy?
I feel happiest when ...
When do you feel sad?
What is the one great sadness in your life?
When do you feel frustrated?
What makes you feel guilty?
What makes you envious?
What makes you depressed?
What is something that really distresses you?
When do you get angry?
What angers you above all?  (i.e. of all the things that anger you.)
What are you most ashamed of?
What are you proud of?
What are you the most proud of about yourself?  
What possession are you most proud of?
What do you find artistically pleasing?
When you are nervous, what do you do?
What bores you?
What makes you afraid?
What scared you last?  Share a moment when you were frightened.
As we are in privy, tell me the one thing you fear the most?  (Real or imagined)
When all by myself with nothing to do I feel ...
What do you dislike about yourself?
I like myself most when ...
I like myself least when ...  
One of my emotions I have trouble accepting is ...
One of my actions I have trouble accepting is ...
One of the things about my body I have trouble accepting is ...
I am beginning to feel ...
When I feel lonely I ...
Sometimes I avoid responsibility by blaming ...
What is your general mood?  Why?
What is the most wondrous thing in your life?
What is the highest standard you have set for yourself?
Describe your most predominant or worst habit.
What do you daydream about?
Did you dream last night?
What was your last nightmare?
When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?
What do you think about when you can't fall asleep?
If you wake up in the middle of the night, what do you do?
Do you wake up happy (always, usually, occasionally, seldom, never)?
What is the most sentimental possession that you own?
Where do you consider yourself to be on the social scale?  Where are you really?
You are looking in your mirror;  what do you want to change about your face?
What four things are most important in your life?
What animal (if any) would you liken yourself unto?
What is your philosophy of life?
What is the greatest influence on you and your life?
What is the greatest excitement in your life?
In what ways are you hypocritical?
What part of your body hurts at this instant?
What are you best at?  Describe it.
What is your claim to fame?
What would you like to be remembered for after you die?
Do you feel in control of your life (always, usually, occasionally, seldom, never)?
Do you consider yourself normal?
Is God pleased with you?

YOUR PAST LIFE
What were you doing yesterday at 7 AM (or 11 AM, 2 PM, 5 PM, 8 PM, midnight)?
Where were you and what were you doing on your last birthday?
Where were you and what were you doing when you heard the news of:
	Queen Mary's death
	The Duke of Norfolk's death sentence
	Amy Robsart's death
	Mary Queen of Scots' execution
Tell us a significant event in your life.
Describe something embarrassing that happened to you.
What is the strangest thing you have ever done?
What is the worst thing that has ever happened to you?
Describe a humourous incident in your life.
Describe a funny incident that happened to someone around you.  (i.e.  something that happened to a friend of yours while you were around.)
What important incident happened either on your birthday or in the year of your birth?  (e.g. Mistress Agatha Antel was born 15 Jan. 1559, the same day that Elizabeth Tudor was crowned.)
Do you visit your lands often?
Have you ever seen a battle?
Have you ever attended a coronation?  Whose?
Have you ever consulted an astrologer?
Have you ever been to the Royal Exchange?  What is it?  Did you like it? Would you go again?
Courtiers:  How old were you when you came to court, and how long have you been there?
How old were you when you were betrothed?
What was your wedding like?
Men:  Are you or have you ever been a Justice of the Peace?
Women: Has your father or brother ever been a Justice of the Peace?
Men:  Are you or have you ever been a member of the House of Commons?
Women:  Has your father or brother ever been a member of the House of Commons?
Men:  Have you been knighted?
Have you ever been to sea?
Have you travelled outside of the country?  Where?
Have you ever been to Ireland?
Were you ever an apprentice?
Have you ever had your portrait painted?
Have you ever visited the Tower?  Been confined in the Tower?
When was the last time you cried?  Why?
Who was the first person who died that you felt really sad about?
Whom do you correspond with regularly?
What was the last letter you received?
Whom do you look to for protection?
Have you ever heard voices?
Have you ever drunk tobacco?
Have you ever written verse/poetry?
Share a big let-down in your life.
What might Sir Francis Walsingham suspect of you?
How many men attend you when you go out at night?
Have you ever attended the Assizes?
When you go to London, where do you stay?
Complete the statement, "Words cannot describe how I felt when ..."
Do you have a pet?  If so, what is it?  What is its name?
Do you have a horse?  What kind is it?  What is its name?
Have you ever kept a caged bird?  What kind was it?
Do you collect curios?  If so, what kind?
Thinking back, what can you identify as a turning point in your life?
If you read, what was the last book you read (not counting the Bible)?
* Nobles:  Have you ever had a book dedicated to you?
* Have you ever been to Buxton?  Why would you go there?
* Men:  What is your connection with the militia of your home county? 
* Peers:  Have you ever been Lord Lieutenant of a county?  What did you do in that position?
* Are you engaged in any lawsuits at present?  Describe one.
* Of whom do you hold your lands?
* Do you hold any of your lands of the Crown by knight's service?  Why is this important to your children?

CHILDHOOD
Where were you born:  country, county, town, estate?
Where were you raised?
Describe an incident that stands out in your mind about your childhood.
Complete the statement:  "One thing I missed during my childhood was ..."
What memory do you have from your childhood of your mother's or grandmother's stillroom?  (Good or bad?)
What was the first thing that you ever did that caused your parents to take a switch to you?
How many people did you share a bed with as a child?
As a child, did you have a favourite hiding place?  If so, where?   If you had ever told anyone, or had ever been discovered in this hiding spot, who would have found you?
What river did you play on the banks of as a child?
Were you fostered to another household as a child?  Whose?
Were you ever a ward?  If so, what kind of experience was it for you?
Have any of your servants been with you since you were a child?  Since they were a child?
When I was five years old ...
When I was ten years old ...
When I was fifteen years old ...

EDUCATION
How were you educated?  Who taught you?
Did your father hire many masters to teach you at home?
Did you go to grammar school?  Dame school?
Do you speak any foreign languages?  If so, which ones?
What instruments do you play?
Do you dance well?  
Can you sing?
Do you write a good hand?
Do you write in the Italian script? A secretary hand?
Can you reckon?
What books do you own?
How were you educated for your trade?
Have you made a study of philosophy?
Where would you send your sons to school?
Men:  Did you ever attend Oxford or Cambridge University?  Which?
Men:  Were you ever a member of one of the Inns of Court?  Which?
Women:  How well do you do embroidery?  Plain sewing? Stilling?  Brewing?

OCCUPATION
What is your occupation?
Everybody serves somebody;  whom do you serve?
How old were you when you went into service?
Are you a hard worker?
How skilled are you at your job?
Do you ever think about changing your occupation?
Is your position in the household in any way connected to the kitchen? If so, how?
Do you work with your hands?  

THE FUTURE
What motivates you in life?
What are your purposes/goals/aspirations in life?
What is your secret ambition or hidden agenda?
What lifetime dream are you still trying to make come true?
What do you plan on doing next year?
What do you want to be doing in ten years?
How do you see your future?
As we are in privy, tell me one of your most secret dreams or desires.
What are your plans for tomorrow?

RELIGION
What are your religious beliefs (i.e., high or low church, puritan, Catholic)?
Is this different than your parents' or other relations' beliefs?
If your religion is not the same as the rest of your family's, how do you feel about this?  How do they feel about this?
What is your attitude towards religion?
How pious are you?
How often do you pray?
Do you go to church regularly?
Have you ever had to pay a fine for not attending church?
Have you ever traveled in a Catholic country?  What did you think about it?
What are your ethical values and standards?  (upright, honest, holier-than-thou, alley cat, etc.)
Do you truly believe in Heaven or Hell?
What do you think it is like after you die?

POLITICS
What is your political faction?  Are you a member because of personal belief, family ties, or for some other reason?
Which is more important:  politics, religion or family?
What is the most serious political problem facing England?
In the event of the Queen leaving no heirs, who should succeed her?
Should the Queen name a successor now?  Why or why not?
Do you and your family have any political disagreements?
Do you have any friends in a rival political faction?
Who is your most powerful ally at Court?
Who is your most powerful enemy at Court?
Under what circumstances would you switch political factions?
Do you support the formation of a Protestant league of nations?  Why or why not?
Is exploration of the New World useful or not?
How should England behave towards the Pope?
Is religious toleration in England beneficial or detrimental to the country as a whole?
Is a state religion necessary?
How lenient should the Queen be towards English Catholics?
Are the Queen and her ministers answerable to the law?
How much power does the Privy Council have?  Should it have more or less power?
How much power does Parliament have?  Should it have more or less power?
How much political influence do the Ladies of the Bedchamber have?  The Ladies of the Privy Chamber?  The Maids of Honour?
If you had important information that the Queen should hear, but you knew it would anger her, how would you see that she received it?
For what reasons should a man be granted a peerage by the Queen?
For what reasons should a man be knighted?
Has the Queen created too few new peers in her reign?
What should be done about the increasing number of vagrants in England?
Servants:  Who is the most important person in your master/mistress' faction?
Should England support the Netherlands against Spain?  Why or why not?  How much aid should Her Grace give the Dutch?
What is a sampling of your political views on the happenings in:  Flanders, Ireland, France or Spain?
What should England's policy be towards France?  Spain? Scotland?
How can the Irish problem be solved?
What are your views on the New World?
As we are in privy, if the choice were up to you, who would you have the Queen marry?  Why?
Should the Queen of Scots be executed?
* How do you feel about the Poor Laws?
* How much authority should bishops have over the administration of the Church?
* Would a higher tariff on imported luxuries be advantageous to the economy?
* What are the rights and responsibilities of a landholder to his tenants?
* What are the duties of a tenant to his lord?

OPINIONS
Are you in favour of enclosure?
Do you believe in astrology?
What do poor people need the most?
Is ambition a sin in a second son?
Should dancing be permitted during the Holy Season of Lent?
Should a man be a virgin when he marries?
Is the lion the King of Beasts?
Should a man court a lady if she is of higher station than his own?
What is the best reason for marriage?
Do you think love is important in a marriage?
Do you value a witty tongue?
How do you feel about growing old?
What was your first impression of the person across from you?
Should a gentleman go abroad to learn the customs of other lands?
Should a gentleman learn Hebrew?
Can one be both a successful courtier and an honest man?
Give one word to describe each person in the group.
How much is a good servant worth to you?
Are opals unlucky?
Are love potions efficacious?
Who amongst the servants has the oddest name?
As we are in privy, in your heart of hearts, what do you truly think of England?  Of Elizabeth?  Of the Court?
What do you think of the nobility?
Did the Lord Leicester murder his first wife?
Does Lord Leicester lift the Queen too high when they dance La Volta?
Does _________ flirt with gentlemen above her station?
Is there a decent translation of Plato?
In your secret heart of hearts, how do you regard your master?
Should a noblewoman sew?
Is gossip a sin?
Do you believe in fairies?
Has Mistress Anne Vavasour "anticipated the joys of marriage?"
Would you marry a foreigner?
What do you feel about __________?
	Lord Burghley?	Lord Sussex?
	Lord Oxford?	Lord Leicester?
	Sir Francis Walsingham?	Lady Stafford?
	Blanche Parry?	Mary Fitton?
	Lady Howard of Effingham?	etc.
Should the Baron Simier be permitted to marry an Englishwoman?
Would you marry a potter's widow?
Servants:  What do you think of your employer?
Besides Her Majesty, who do you consider to be the most noble of the nobility?  (Which one do you like the best?)
What is worth dying for?
What do you think is man's purpose on earth?
Make a statement about beauty.
What advice would you give a new, young bride?
Give an example of "heaven on earth."
Make a statement about security.
Describe a happy family.
Talk about a happy marriage.
Make a statement about courage.
Define love.
How would you define joy?
Make a statement about success.
What does freedom mean to you?
What are your feelings about the bribery that goes on at Court?  Have you ever taken bribes?
What are your feelings towards foreigners in general?  Should they be allowed in England?
When is it permissible to break the law?
Is disobedience to the monarch ever justified?
Are there any circumstances under which a monarch may be deposed?
Does a man's treason taint his entire family?
Can justice be achieved through the legal system?
* Some people believe that the system by which wardships of fatherless children are granted is corrupt.  What are your opinions on this matter?
* Which would you prefer:  to appear virtuous when you are not or to appear wicked when you are not?  (i.e., which is more important to have:  virtue or the appearance of virtue?)
* In your opinion, as we are in privy, is Elizabeth illegitimate?

LIKES & DISLIKES
What is your favourite colour?  What colour(s) do you dislike?  Why?
What is your favourite flower?  What flower(s) do you dislike?
What is your favourite animal?  What animal do you dislike?
What is your favourite book?
What is your favourite time of year?  What time of year do you dislike?
Where is your favorite place to be?
Who is/was your favorite saint?
Whom do you admire most?  Why?
Whom do you dislike the most?
What characteristic(s) do you like in a person?
What characteristic(s) do you dislike in a person?
Describe your ideal person of the opposite sex.
Do you enjoy the company of the person sitting on your left?
What could a man/woman do to please you?  (Not necessarily the obvious, but, "Marry my daughter,"  "Cook a pudding like my mother's,"  etc.
Do you like London?
If you like the theatre, what is your favourite play and/or playwright?
Hum or sing part of your favourite song.  What is it?

FAMILY
Who is your family?
What is the name of your mother?  Her parents' names?  (Father at least.)
Who is your father?  What is his station?
Describe what your father does/did for a living.
What is your coat-of-arms?  Your family's motto?
What is your ethnic background?
Are you married?  If so, to whom, and why?  If not, why?
Who were you named after, if anyone?
Do you have any children?
Women:  have you ever lost a child?
Mothers:  did you nurse your children, or hire a wet nurse?
Who did you, or would you, name your children after?  Why?
Are you on good terms with the rest of your family?
Who is your least favorite family member?
Do you have any brothers or sisters?  Of which of them are you the most fond?
Do you have any relations that live abroad?
Who is your nearest relation at Court?  The nearest relation being played?
Is there anyone in your family you would like to find a position for at court?  Would like to see lose their position at court?
Has anyone in your family ever been convicted of treason?  Accused of treason?  Do you believe they were guilty?
Who are your godparents?
Have you any godchildren?
Does your family have any enemies?  How violent is the antagonism?
Where did your family stand during the "reign" of Jane Grey?
Where did your family stand during the reign of Queen Mary?
Describe something that stands out in your mind about someone in your family.
* How far back do you trace your family?
* Who is your heir-at-law?
* Where are your ancestors buried?
* How has your family's position changed since the reign of Henry VIII?

PERSONAL RELATIONS
Do you have a sweetheart?  If so, whom?  (Is it historical?)
What virtues must your sweetheart/wife/husband possess?
Who is your best friend?
Who is the person closest to you?
As we are in privy, have you ever had a love affair?
What one quality do you look for most in your friends?
Who is officially the most important person in your life?
Who is emotionally the most important person in your life?
Who are your chosen associates?
How well do you get along with your family?
To whom do you owe the greatest loyalty?
To whom can you give orders?
How do you treat your servants?
Servants:  How well do you know your master's relations?
What do you think that other people think of you?
How do you see other people reacting to you?
To whom would you:
	tell a personal secret?	tell a political secret?
	tell your dreams?	confess a weakness?
	tell a juicy piece of gossip?	go to for help for yourself?
	go to for help for the person most important to you?
Do most men like you?
Does the Queen like you? How much?
With whom did I see you flirting last night?
What gift would you give Lady Burghley?
Who is your worst enemy within the country?  Outside it?
My husband/wife's most irritating habit is ...   (if not married, answer for your closest friend or family member)
Of the people present, to whom would you defer the most?
Whom would you summon to your deathbed?

RECREATION
What is your favourite sport?
What is your least favourite sport or pastime?
Do you play tennis?  Pall mall?  Bowls?  Chess?  Tables?
Can you swim?
How good an archer are you?
Do you like bear-baiting?
What type of public entertainment do you go to?
Do you enjoy watching a hanging?
Do you like the theatre?  Describe the most recent play you saw.
Do you like the Hunt?  If so, describe your favourite method.  (Hounds, hawks, mounted, on foot, weapons, prey, etc.)
What is the name of your favorite horse?
What sort of falcon are you allowed to fly?
Is a driving rain sufficient reason to postpone a stag hunt?  Why?
Which is your favorite breed of dog?
What do you do with your best friend for enjoyment and/or entertainment?
Do you gamble?  Why/why not?  If so, what is your favourite game?  Describe it.
If you gamble, is there a reason that you should not?  What is this reason?
What games do you enjoy playing?

FOOD
What is your favourite food?  What is your least favourite food?
What is your favourite fruit?
What is your favourite meal of the day?
When you are feeling bad or "low," what do you eat?
Do you prefer cider or perry?
Does the Queen enjoy candied roses?
Have you ever had to cook a meal?
What did you eat for breakfast?
Would you ever eat a potato? A tomato?
What is the largest meal you have ever eaten?
Have you ever drunk to excess?
What does a guest bring to a meal with him/her?
What do you eat/serve at a banquet?
What is the main cooking apparatus in your home?
What ways can meat and fish be preserved?
What methods of sweetening dishes does your cook use besides sugar?
Whom did you inherit your receipt book from?
Have you seen/used a fork?  What did you think of it?
Do you dine in the Great Hall or in the dining parlour?
What is your favorite receipt and who gave it to you?
Do you enjoy the task of preserving meats, vegetables, and fruits during the hot months of harvest?
Do you know how to candy flowers?
Who does the brewing in your family?
* What is your favorite ingredient to flavour ale?

HEALTH
How healthy are you?
Have you had any serious illnesses?  What?  When?  Where?
Do you have lice?
When you have a cold, what medicines do you use?
Have you ever been bled?
Have you ever had an ague?
What do you do for gout?
What do you do for a headache?
If you were ill, who would you go to?
How often do you bathe?
Who is the first person you try to find when you're not feeling good?
Have you ever consulted an apothecary? A barber-surgeon?  A physician?
Would you recommend a physician to a friend?

DRESS
What is your favourite article of clothing?
What is your least favourite article of clothing?
Who made your favourite shirt/smock?
What is your most comfortable piece of clothing?
Do you trust a man who wears a robe?  [i.e., a lawyer]
Have you ever owned a handkerchief?
What do you think of the new knit stockings?
What do you wear in bed?
Do your shoes pinch?
Who polishes your shoes?
Who mends your shoes?
Describe your favorite suit of clothing.
What style of clothing do you like best?
What would you most like for a new garment?
What country's style of manner and dress do you prefer?
Should a gentleman wear pattens in wet weather?

MONEY
Have you ever been in debt?
To whom would you go to in order to borrow money?
Do you owe anyone money right now?  If so, why?
To whom would you lend money?
From where does your income derive?
Servants:  How much are you paid?
Servants:  What do you spend your wages on?
How much money a year are you worth?
How would you spend five pounds?  ten pounds?
If you were given a shilling, what would you do with it?
What do you want to buy that you don't have?
Women:  What was/is your dowry?
Parents:  How much will you dower your daughters?
Are you generous or stingy?
Compared with most of your peers how much money do you have?
How much money do you have in your purse right now?
Is your mother rich?
Would you give a lady a present of money?
To whom does Baron Simier owe money?  
To whom does the margrave of Baden owe money?
Can you afford wax candles?  Rush lights?  Tallow dips?
Do you have any lands?  Where are they?
Have you ever sold an estate?
Have you ever invested in a shipping venture?
Do you own or part-own any ships?
* Courtiers:  What is your stipend, or annual income from your lands?  
* Have you ever had a wardship?  Sued for one?  
* Have you ever sold lands without a licence?  What kind of licence do you need and why?
* Have you ever sold timber from your land to raise money?
* Have you ever been involved in fen drainage or mining projects?

HOME
Where do you live?
Where is your principal residence?
Describe your favourite room in your home.
What do you use to scent your rooms?
Do you have a long gallery in your home?  A great hall?  A chapel?
If there was a fire at your home while you were in residence, and you could save only one item in the whole house, what would it be?
Are there vermin on your land?
How do you feel about missing the harvest at your home?
Do you make your own soap at home?  Your own candles?
Tell us about your garden.
* Where in your manor/castle do you hold banquets?
* Do you have any plants in your garden that are of foreign origin?  That are recently imported?
* What would you feed a blood horse in winter?  If you did not know, whom would you ask?
* Do you engage principally in arable or pastoral agriculture on your estates?
* What types of preserves does your stillroom produce?  
* Do you pay much in window tax?

DAILY ROUND
Describe your daily schedule.
If you could describe your daily schedule in one word, what would it be?
How many people do you share a bed with?
What time do you wake up in the morning?
What time do you usually arise?
What did you do in the first two hours after arising this morning?
Women:  How many hours a day do spend embroidering or sewing?
Men:  How much time do you spend in the saddle when you are at home?
What time do you go to bed in the evening?
What were you doing two hours before you went to bed last night?
What do you do for relaxation?
How do you spend your leisure time?
Do you have hobbies?
How is Michaelmas celebrated at your house?  Christmas?  

PROGRESS
Why are you at Pleasure Faire?
What is your hidden agenda on this progress?  What do you wish to achieve?
How familiar are you with the people in this group?  Do you know them personally?  Do you know their reputation?
How many of these people do you see regularly when you are not on progress?
How do you feel about the people you share your room with at this stop on progress?
Have you lost anything since we came on progress?
Have you acquired anything since we came on progress?
Servants:  Have you lost anything of your master's since we came on progress?
How many servants have you brought with you on progress?  
How many horses have you brought with you?
Do you bring your own sheets with you on progress?  Your own bed?
How may chests make up your baggage?
Our host's servants:  Have you been getting good vails since the court came to this manor?
Masters:  Are your servants getting many vails from the other people on progress?
Are your servants well housed at this stop on progress?
Has Her Grace ever visited one of your estates on progress?  Could you afford it if she did?
Are you related to anyone the Court has visited this progress?
Ladies:  On progress, do you prefer to travel on horseback or in a litter?
How does visiting this shire affect your life?

WHAT IF
If you could have one wish what would it be?  Why?
If you could marry (or could have married) anyone, who would it be?
If you had the chance to ask the Queen for a favour, what would it be and why?
If you needed a favour from the Queen and could not ask yourself, who would you ask to be your intermediary?
If you could be anyone, other than who you are now, who would you be and why?
If you could re-live your life, would you change anything you'd done?  What?  Why?
If you had a choice on how to get from Stafford to London, by what method would you travel?
If you could receive a sixth sense, what would you want it to be and why?
If you could give any gift in the world, what would you give to the person on your right?
If you were to build an addition to your home, what would you add?
If you were given the day "off" with no responsibilities, how would you spend it?
If someone were to buy you the perfect present, what would it be?
If you suspected a member of your family was involved in treason, what would you do?
What would you do if your eyesight failed?
What talent do you wish you had?
* If you had to prove that you were of age, who would you ask to testify?
* What gift would you give the Queen on her natal day? For New Year’s?

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Actor Questions

What is the most important thing that you want to get across about your character?  (i.e., after looking at you for one minute, what should a person know about you?)
Who do you model your character on?
How is your character different from yourself?

	S. Monson 2005 rev.